The Lucknow Waqf Board has claimed ownership of Uday Pratap (UP) College in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. The college, which has been operating for 115 years, spans over 100 acres and serves more than 17,000 students across various institutions, including UP Degree College and Rani Murar Girls School.
Dr. D.K. Singh, the college principal, informed ABP News that the Waqf Board issued a notice on December 6, 2018, to which the college responded on December 21, asserting its operation under a trust, thereby nullifying ownership claims.
Additionally, Dr. Singh reported that students had observed a mosque being secretly constructed on campus. The administration intervened, removed the construction materials, and cut the mosque's electricity connection after the Waqf Board failed to provide necessary documentation. Dr. Singh called the Waqf Board's claim "absurd," stating that UP College cannot be acquired.
Historical Roots of the College
Historically, the college traces its roots to 1909, when Raja Uday Pratap Singh Judev founded the Hewett Kshatriya High School, which eventually became the Uday Pratap Singh Autonomous College. That same year, Raja Judev established the Uday Pratap College and Hewett Kshatriya School Endowment Trust to manage the institution. According to the Charitable Endowment Act, the trust's land ownership status cannot be altered after the base year.
CM Yogi Adityanath Backs College Administration
During his visit to the college on its foundation day, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath reaffirmed that the Waqf Board cannot take control of the institution. He also announced plans to elevate the college to university status, which would make it Varanasi's fifth university.
Currently, the city is home to four universities: Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, Kashi Hindu University, Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapeeth, and the Central Higher Tibetan Education Institute.
Nationally, Waqf Boards oversee 9.4 lakh acres of land across 8.7 lakh properties, valued at over ₹1 lakh crore, making them the third-largest landowners in the country after the Indian Railways and the armed forces.
